Research questions
Developing Key Terms
All good arguments draw their strength from strong textual evidence and analysis. This exercise has two parts. In the first, which can be done for homework, students select passages from shared readings, closely analyze them, and then examone their responses for key terms. In the second, which is an in-class exercise, they use key terms […]
Close Reading Exercise
For this exercise, instructors should first select five key passages from their exhibit sources and type them up on a single sheet. Students will independently read and annotate the passages, and then, in small groups of 3-4 students, complete the exercise below. Assign each group one of the passages, and ask each group to introduce […]
The Scope of Research Questions & Conversations
Each Flipped Learning Module (FLM) is a set of short videos and online activities that can be used (in whole or in part) to free up class time from content delivery for greater student interaction. At the end of the module, students are asked to fill out a brief survey, in which we adopt the […]
The Early Stages of Research
Each Flipped Learning Module (FLM) is a set of short videos and online activities that can be used (in whole or in part) to free up class time from content delivery for greater student interaction. At the end of the module, students are asked to fill out a brief survey, in which we adopt the […]
Research as Forming a New Question
Our Essential Lessons are a sequence of lessons that form the backbone of the Writing Program curriculum, illustrating what we want all students to learn across our program’s diverse course topics. Students often believe that the most important thing about writing a research paper is having a strong thesis and therefore try to produce that […]
Formulating Questions and Claims Based on Observations
In this exercise/activity, students work on their own and in groups to generate and evaluate questions and claims based on their observations or notes from an outside-of-class learning experience. Objective To turn students’ observations into claims and questions; to evaluate stronger and weaker questions/claims; to plan for an essay using students’ own observations as a […]
How Research Works in a New Genre
This assignment helps to prepare students for the remediation of their scholarly essays into a new genre that draws on research. In addition to familiarizing students with the genre that they will need to produce, the exercise helps them to understand the role research plays in genres other than scholarly essays and to identify the research they […]
Visual Representation of Texts
Many students find working in the visual mode a productive change. Thes two related exercises help students better understand challenging texts and prepare to write a paper on them. You may find that one or another works better in your class, or you may choose to use both, at different points in the semester. This […]